Larry Lemke's father and unusual hardware
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 8
| Teller | Larry Lemke, aerospace engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center |
|---|---|
| Passed on by | Astrophysicist Bernard Haisch, to Jacques Vallée |
| Date | June 2003, per the earlier summary of Vallée's journals (Forbidden Science 5) |
| Claim | Lemke's father had worked on advanced hardware that seemed to come from somewhere other than Earth |
| Verification | None; the journal passage is not available in the readable sources |
| People | Jacques Vallée, Bernard Haisch |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 152 |
| Year | 2003 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2003 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 8 |
According to the earlier summary of Jacques Vallée's journals, in June 2003 the NASA Ames engineer Larry Lemke told the astrophysicist Bernard Haisch a story about his father. His father, he said, had worked on advanced hardware that seemed to come from somewhere other than Earth. Haisch passed the story on to Vallée.[1] The entry would appear in Forbidden Science 5, covering 2000–2009, which none of the readable sources quotes.[1][2] The account is a family recollection relayed at second or third hand, with no documentation.[1]
The people
- Larry Lemke. An aerospace engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center. In February 2005 he and Carol Stoker were reported to have claimed possible evidence of life on Mars, based on methane signatures and their study of microbial life near Spain's Río Tinto; NASA officials soon distanced the agency from the claim.[6] He was on the first shakedown crew of the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station on Devon Island.[7] In retirement he has publicly discussed the hypothesis that UFOs could be time travellers from the future.[8]
- Bernard Haisch. A German-born American astrophysicist (1949–2026) who worked at Lockheed Martin's Solar & Astrophysics Laboratory in Palo Alto. He developed with Alfonso Rueda a "quantum vacuum inertia" hypothesis, and edited the Journal of Scientific Exploration from 1988 to 1999. He founded the California Institute for Physics and Astrophysics in 1999 and directed it until 2002, then became chief science officer of ManyOne Networks.[5]
The earlier summary called Haisch a "Lockheed scientist". By 2003 he had left Lockheed Martin and was working at ManyOne Networks.[5]
The account
As summarized, the story has three links: Lemke's father, Lemke, and Haisch, who told Vallée.[1] What is missing:
- No name. Lemke's father is not named in a way that allows his career to be checked.
- No details. The hardware is not described, and no employer, program or date is given.
- No context. It is unclear whether Lemke had heard the story from his father directly or pieced it together later.
Vallée's journals
Vallée's Forbidden Science journals, published in seven volumes covering 1957 to 2025, record many such conversations with scientists, engineers and intelligence officials.[1][2] A reviewer of the sixth volume noted that its index covers people more than events.[3] Publishers Weekly praised the series as "a glimpse into the mind of a scientist who seems to challenge every preconception".[1] Another writer describes them as intimate portraits of the "fringe 'scenes'", full of humour and anecdote.[4]
Assessment
The story is typical of many in Vallée's journals: an intriguing hint from a credible person that cannot be verified.[1][4] Lemke's own later interest in speculative UFO hypotheses does not bear on what his father did.[8] Without his father's name, employer or project, the claim cannot be tested.[1]
People and topics
- NASA — The U.S. civilian space agency, created in 1958.
- Jacques Vallée — Computer scientist and astronomer, author of the Forbidden Science journals and a central figure in UFO research.
- Lockheed Martin — The aerospace company whose Skunk Works built the U-2, SR-71 and F-117.
- Bernard Haisch — Astrophysicist at Lockheed who co-developed the zero-point field theory of inertia.
On the Timeline
- Charles Hall and the Tall Whites (7 May 2003) — Former airman Charles Hall writes he was watched by 'tall whites' at Nellis AFB in the 1960s.
- Chameleo (July 2003) — A man claims a Marine deserter told him about secret UAP material.
See every 2003 event on the UAP Timeline →
Further reading
- Jacques Vallée — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Skunk Works — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
References
- Forbidden Science — the journals of Jacques Vallée (Anomaly Archives) · anomalyarchives.org · archived copy
- Forbidden Science series — Anomalist Books · anomalistbooks.com · archived copy
- Review of Forbidden Science 6 — SFCrowsnest · sfcrowsnest.info · archived copy
- Forbidden Science Dispatches — Tanner Boyle (journal summaries) · tannerfboyle.substack.com · archived copy
- Bernard Haisch — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Extraterrestrial life — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Time-traveler UFO hypothesis — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
Facts in this article are drawn in part from the Wikipedia articles “Bernard Haisch”, “Extraterrestrial life”, “Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station”, “Time-traveler UFO hypothesis”, “Bernard Haisch”, “Extraterrestrial life”, “Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station”, “Time-traveler UFO hypothesis”, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
No discussion yet.